Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Lauds Maturity Of Joe Flacco

The Eagles traded veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Jets on Tuesday, leaving a huge void in the quarterback room.

Flacco, 36, might be past his prime, but his NFL experiences and leadership were a major influence on second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts spoke to the Philadelphia media on Wednesday and lauded Flacco for the guidance he brought to the room, guidance that will now be passed onto Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.

"I think there is an age factor that does matter," Hurts said. "And a maturity factor. Having that in the room, a guy that's won the Super Bowl, seen so much, double-digit years in the league. He has more years than all of us combined in the room now.

"So it definitely means a lot to me, but I just lean on my coaches and on Gardner, and we'll continue to get it rolling."

Get it rolling, they must. The Eagles now sit at 2-5 after suffering back-to-back losses to the Buccaneers and Raiders. Hurts' play has been criticized by the Philadelphia media in the recent weeks, and his job for next season appears to be on the line.

"You can't be results oriented. You have to trust the process," Hurts said. "Sometimes you have so many different things that going on, where (critics are) trying to take you off what the main thing is. Keep the main thing the main thing. It's just work, get better every day. It'll turn over. It'll turn over. I believe that."

Without Flacco in the room, Gardner Minshew II assumes the backup role. While not as experienced as Flacco, Minshew II has 20 starts under his belt. He's one of the better backups in the league and now the main man that Hurts will lean on.